Karnataka's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has landed in a row over its support to teaching of Hindu holy book Bhagwad Gita in schools.
The controversy took a new turn after Primary and Secondary Education Minister Vishwanath Hegde Kageri said last week that those opposing the Gita teaching should quit India.
Kageri said teaching the Gita was necessary to inculcate moral values in pupils. He made the comment at a function in Kolar, 65km from Bengaluru.
On July 8, he had announced in Bengaluru that the government was "open to making Bhagwad Gita teaching compulsory in schools".
But Higher Education Minister V.S. Acharya said the programme should not be seen as religious teaching.
No connection
"There is no connection between Bhagwad Gita and religion. Gita has more to do with human values," Acharya asserted.
Not everyone is convinced.
Many see it as an attempt to communalise education, and are opposing it on the ground that it is unconstitutional for the government to back such a programme.
The issue reached the high court on Thursday.
On a petition by the Karnataka State Minorities Educational Institutions Managements' Federation challenging the official support to the programme, the court sought the response of the state and the central governments.
Kageri insists there is no compulsion to attend the programme, that it is voluntary and the teaching would take place only after school hours.
No comments:
Post a Comment